Straymo

katie4253

I was told you have experience with losing a pet and having other dogs.  Our dog Debbie has Leukemia and we are beginning to plan for her.  She is still asymptomatic, but we want to have plans in place because things could turn very fast.  We have her sister as well, and we are very afraid for her. 

Do you have any thoughts about this?  Thank you in advance.  This is just so hard.  

straymo

I'm so sorry to hear about Debbie. When we lost Tillie a year and a half ago, we were able to have our vet come to our home. After she passed, we let each of the other two dogs come in and see her. Lily sniffed around and Max didn't really take much notice. Lily always looked out for her, but she didn't really act much differently after. She would look for her sometimes, but overall adapted well. They both watched her decline and somehow if felt as if they knew she was ready too. Her last months were very stressful for them as ner health declined and I really feel like they were able to relax more after she was gone. They no longer had to worry about her if that makes sense. (((hugs))

straymo

Also I should say that the other two dogs were not in the room when it happened. They were outside with DH because he couldnt handle being in the room.. It was the most peaceful moments we had had in along time. We brought Max and Lily in after. I didn't want them to attach anything to our vet and I didn't want to have to worry about them in that moment, only Tillie.

katie4253

Thank you so much for responding.  I appreciate it!  It's the hardest part of owning pets...that's for sure. 

straymo

katie4253:

Thank you so much for responding.  I appreciate it!  It's the hardest part of owning pets...that's for sure. 

It is most certainly the hardest.  I felt a bit guilty afterwards because I was no longer stressing.  That was hard for me to let go of since I was so used to caring for her every need and worrying if she was okay. 

You'll care for her and worry about her non-stop and then it stops.  That sometimes can be  harder if that makes sense.  It does help having another dog at the time to focus on.  Your other dog will adapt and that's hard too.

It's all hard.  (((hugs)))

 

mainerocks

I've been hesitant to but into this post because I don't want to be rude, so I apologize, but I wanted to share something. Straymo said something that struck a cord with me - something about the other dogs sort of already having said goodbye.

I had a pair of cats for 11 years and had to put one to sleep in the fall. Lily had never lived without him and loved to snuggle him all day, but when his cancer started winning, she left him alone. I mentioned it to my vet and she said something about Lily knowing and having already said her good-byes. It just seemed to ring so true. She was still very sad when he was gone, but she somehow seemed to know.

I know this is a cat story and may not help you at all, but I felt I should share. Maybe your other pup will also "know" and it won't be as bad as your worrying heart leads you to believe. Good luck with it all. Stay strong and enjoy all the moments you have with your pups. 

straymo

Maine, thanks for remember that. I do believe that Max & Lily had said their good-byes to her already.  She was physcially and mentally barely "Tillie" towards the end and they knew it well before we did. 

I really think they were able relax afterwards because the tension was so high in the house, but it just felt normal to us. 

(((hugs))